Darkness To Light
by Anka7995
Summary: An AU, where the war with Voldemort happens earlier, at the time when Lily is pregnant with Harry. A glimpse of what happens during the time when Lily is left behind as James goes to fight. One-shot.


**Darkness To Light**

**Summary: **_An AU, where the war with Voldemort happens earlier, at the time when Lily is pregnant with Harry. A glimpse of what happens during the time when Lily is left behind as James goes to fight. One-shot._

_Two days... it has been two days since they left, since he left._

Hope is more dangerous than fear. And they left me here hoping. Hoping that everything is going to be fine. I am sitting here, hardly registering what is going on.

"James," I whisper, "Where are you?"

It was late last night that the Order called us for an emergency meeting. There is going to be a war. Against Voldemort. Declared by Voldemort.

And I am here. Just because I am pregnant. Okay, I care for my child more than anything, but... James is out there, fighting. And my brain imagines scary scenarios. All of them involve James dying and end up with me screaming. Alice was to stay with me, but she soon left the room to sleep. I don't even try sleeping because I know what I am going to see, and I know I cannot bear it. [Beta note: This phrasing is a little redundant. Maybe place the emphasis on the scenarios being intrusive or all-consuming for example, and reword to something like, "Scary scenarios bombard my thoughts."]

To imagine with open eyes is one thing, but to live it in nightmares is totally different.

((O))

Two days ago...

The sky has a greyish tinge to it, the rising sun hidden behind the thick grey clouds. The ambience is dark and damp, fitting the mood of the couple walking along a long grassy lane.

"Don't go," the female says, as she carelessly brushes tendrils of her red hair out of her eyes, vivid green and filled with unshed tears. The woman knows that normally she won't be so weak-hearted or so selfish. But right now it is her moment of weakness.

"Lily," the male sighs, his jet black hair standing at odd angles, hazel eyes pleading with the woman in front of him, "we have been through this. I need to go. To make everything right, to make this world a safe place for Rose to live."

He places his hand on the swollen belly of the red-head.

"Harry," Lily says, "I am pretty sure it's going to be a boy."

James smiles down at Lily. This has been the argument ever since they had learned that Lily was pregnant; James was sure it was a girl and Lily was sure it was a boy. But right now, James is just happy that it takes her mind off what is going to happen in a couple of hours.

"I haven't forgotten," Lily says and James sighs again, removing his hand from her stomach and placing it on her cheek. "Don't go, or at least take me."

"You know I can't do that," James says, "I cannot do that to you and our child."

"I can fight!" Lily says stubbornly, a spark in her eyes.

"I know," James says and then adds softly, "But I can't lose you."

"And I cannot wait here," Lily says, her face softening, "not knowing where you are."

"We will be fine, Lily," he insists, "Sirius, Remus, Frank, everyone will be with me. I will come back to you, you are not getting rid of me that easily."

She punches his arm lightly.

"Don't say that," she reprimands.

"Sorry," he says softly.

"You will come back to me?" She asks.

"Promise," he replies.

((O))

A sharp pain in my stomach brings me out of my memory and I wince. I am close to reaching nine months. The Healer has said that it could be any time now and I should rest. The reason why I didn't go. But I don't think I can go through the delivery without James here, so I ignore the pain. It could possibly be just a random pain, not contractions.

I get up from the sofa of the living room of the house Alice and I were allotted by the Order.

Alice is stronger than me and is confident that nothing is going to happen to anyone. But it scares me. I have never been this vulnerable, this easily scared.

I sway a little with weakness and lack of sleep, holding the back of the sofa for support.

"Are you alright?" I hear Alice ask, and I turn to find her standing in the dimly lit passageway.

"I am fine," I say hastily.

"You winced," she points out calmly.

I sigh. Alice has always been the perceptive one, the one to figure people out. The people person.

"I am fine," I repeat tiredly.

"You know how it is," I add, pointing at her swollen stomach.

She nods and flicks her wand to light the room. I look at her and for the first time in our stay of two days, I see fear in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" I ask, repeating her question.

"I-" she begins and then hesitates, "I think I'm having..."

"Contractions," I finish for her. Our pregnancy is almost synchronised and both of us are close to our due dates. She nods.

"I am sure nothing will happen to Frank-"

I can hear a "but", in her trailed off sentence and I know how she feels. Because I might be having my contractions and I really hope that James will be here when our baby is born.

But wishes don't always come true, the logical and practical part of my brain reminds me.

I don't know what to say to Alice.

And I don't need to because at that precise moment, the fireplace turns bright green and a haggard looking Sirius steps out. My heart is in my throat, beating rapidly.

"What happened?" Alice asks, the question I am unable to voice.

"We won," Sirius replies, "He is dead, Dumbledore believes he will be back..."

"Where is James?" I ask.

I don't care what happened and how it happened, I just want to know if he is fine.

"He's fine," Sirius assures me, "But..."

He trails off and looks at Alice, whose eyes widen in fear as she slumps on the sofa with, clutching it with her hands tightly.

"He's injured, but he's going to be fine..." Sirius assures her.

I look at Alice, who is trembling.

"I think..." she whispers, "my water just broke."

I don't know what happens next, but I vaguely register Sirius taking Alice to St. Mungo's which is packed with injured people from the war and the dead bodies of the fallen. A wave of nausea hits me and I feel another stab of pain in my stomach. The mid-wife takes Alice in and shoos the two of us out and we make our way to James and Frank to inform him about the delivery. Sirius has asked me to wait with Alice, but that would be pointless. Dilation takes hours and St. Mungo's has a strict policy to allow only family inside the delivery room. But more than that, I want to see James.

I enter another room full of injured people. I hadn't realized the extent of the war and the Order for that matter. My eyes automatically look for a familiar mop of jet black hair and I find him sitting beside a bed, back turned to me.

There is a long gash on his cheek, looking almost healed. If that is how it looked patched up by a Healer, I don't want to imagine what it was like before.

I must have stared at the scar longer than I anticipated, because he smiles a rueful smile and says, "It was from a curse. It's all healed, but scar will remain."

My eyes tear up as I throw myself in his waiting arms.

"Hey," he coos, "I am fine, I'm practically unhurt compared to..." He trails off.

I look down at Frank laying down in his bed.

"Finally noticed me, eh?" He smiles, then winces. It was evident that he was wincing from pain.

"I'm fine, Lily," he assures me, "out of danger. Where is Alice?"

I look at Sirius and then again at Frank.

"She is in labour," I whisper.

Frank smiles again, wider, and the wince cannot over power the grin he is wearing.

"Tell her to be brave," he says, "I will be there as soon as they let me out."

I nod and remove myself from James' embrace to make way to the waiting room.

It takes twelve hours for Neville Longbottom to be born. Frank and James arrived just an hour ago. We waited outside as Frank entered to stay by Alice's side.

I take the new born baby in my arms. He has Alice's round face, but Frank's features. His eyes are blue, but I am looking forward to seeing whose colour he's inherited after a couple of weeks.

Frank is proud and even through the pain of his injuries from fighting and Alice holding his hand a just a little too tightly, he is grinning like a madman. [Beta note: I assume this is what you meant here.]

I know the war has cost everyone something, and many people I know and care for have died, but in this moment, I am happy, truly and completely happy and content.

With Neville's birth I realize that life will go on and there will never be complete darkness. A little light will always shine and make us smile.

And an hour later, my water breaks.

Six hours later, I am a proud mother to Harry James Potter, my lovely boy.

Thanks to the sacrifices of all the people who fought, he can finally live in a safe place without Voldemort.

**A.N.: **Thanks to darling Michy Drarry Shipper for beta'ing this. Love you darling!

Tell me what you think about this one-shot. I am sort of proud of this one.

Written for Hunger Games Competition, The Finals. Prompts: Wishes, Passages, Hope.


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